Rain and tail delay Yorkshire’s progress

Ben Coad impressed again as Yorkshire enjoyed much the better of a rain-affected opening day of their Specsavers County Championship clash with Warwickshire.

Coad finished with eight wickets as Yorkshire slumped to defeat in their season opener against Hampshire and the 23-year-old paceman, playing only his fifth first-class match, picked up another four at Edgbaston.

Tim Bresnan

He took the opening three wickets to spark a Warwickshire collapse to 77-7 before Keith Barker (33 not out) and Jeetan Patel (36) launched a counter-attack which saw the hosts close on 152-8.

That tally came off 48.3 overs, with almost half the day’s scheduled overs lost to rain.

Coad’s performance again exemplified the impressive depth to Yorkshire’s bowling department, with the White Rose travelling to Birmingham still without injured front-line seamers Jack Brooks, Ryan Sidebottom and Liam Plunkett.

Despite that, captain Gary Ballance happily took up the option to bowl first and Coad (4-47) led the dismantling of the home side’s top and middle order, beginning with a burst of three for 12 in his first eight overs.

Adil Rashid

Coad, who took 6-37 in the first innings against Hampshire at Headingley, removed William Porterfield, caught by Ballance at mid-off, and Alex Mellor via a catch by wicketkeeper Andrew Hodd, before trapping Jonathan Trott lbw.

If Warwickshire, bowled out for 91 en route to taking just one point from their opening game at Surrey, thought things might get better when Yorkshire’s opening pair of Coad and David Willey were taken off, then they were sorely mistaken.

Tim Bresnan and Steve Patterson constitute a high-class pair of change bowlers and both struck quickly, the former trapping Sam Hain and the latter luring Ian Bell into a drive which he edged to the wicketkeeper.

When, just after lunch, Patterson had Tim Ambrose caught behind and Coad trapped Rikki Clarke lbw, Warwickshire were still 23 runs from reaching three figures and had lost seven batsmen.

But Patel and Barker responded with a run-a-ball half-century partnership that prevented the home side from sinking further into the mire.

The counter-attack proved effective, Patel hoisting Coad over mid-wicket for six, before it was first halted by rain and then terminated in the second over after the resumption when the New Zealander was bowled by an Adil Rashid googly.

Barker and Chris Wright added an unbroken 20 to preserve Warwickshire’s hopes of harvesting their first batting point of the season, but the day belonged to Yorkshire and Coad.

Alastair Cook was closing on a half century at the end of the first day of Essex’s County Championship clash with Somerset in his first innings since resigning as England captain.

A hip injury had delayed Cook’s return – as had Somerset’s decision to bat first at Taunton – but the hosts were dismissed for just 209, with Ashar Zaidi claiming three for 17 to bring Essex’s openers to the crease.

Cook had moved to 39 not out from 50 balls by the close, helping himself to seven fours.